My opinion editorial appeared today in the San Jose Mercury news. (Online edition on Friday 8/5/16, in print on Monday 8/8/15.) I'd love to hear your thoughts, and please keep the conversation going by sharing it, commenting on the MercuryNews site, and writing a letter to the editor.

Islamophobia endangers South Asians of all religions

Donald Trump's candidacy should prompt South Asians to build bridges.

In a six-minute speech last month, a Pakistani-American delivered what many hail as the fulcrum of the presidential election. Khizr Khan's speech is perhaps the most remarkable sign of the South Asian community's steady shift toward greater visibility and political prominence in the last decade.

I grew up in the 1980s in Virginia, amid a small community of Indian Hindus. We got excited anytime we saw another South Asian at the mall, much less on the national stage.

So with the spotlight on us, how are non-Muslim South Asians responding to the heightened climate of Islamophobia? There are real stakes in this for all of us.